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The Department of Music at the University of North Carolina and their Southern Folklife Collection will be hosting an academic seminar at the Chapel Hill campus as part of their new Bluegrass Initiative. The initiative is an effort to incorporate the music and folkways of rural North Carolina into the curriculum at many levels, including the [...]
Here’s the third report from C.J. Lewandowski on the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys‘ ongoing 2016 European tour. Full tour details, including newly-added dates, can be found online. We arrived in Vlagtwedde, at the home of Liz Meesters Janssen on October 18th just in time for a homemade dinner. This was our first show out in the country, in a beautiful spot [...]
Musicians Belt, who for years has been offering high-quality no-scratch leather belts for string musicians, has announced a new program. The company now has a laser engraver in the shop, allowing them to cut custom logos into plain leather belts, and even add color to the engraving. This will be available for large or small orders, [...]
On October 24, Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters, and his wife, Connie, welcomed their first child into the world. Shiloh Dove Garrett is the name they have chosen for their lovely young daughter. Jeremy says that he is in love already. "She's sweet and beautiful just like her mom. Speaking of which, she toughed [...]
Civilization VI, the recently-released video game from Firaxis and 2K Games, contains a special treat for fans of bluegrass and old time music. Patrick McAvinue and Brad Kolodner from Charm City Junction were tapped to provide some of the music in the game's score. The company that produces the game is also located in the [...]
Yesterday afternoon at the Patuxent Music studio in Rockville, MD Kevin Prater joined the family of artists recording for Tom Mindte and Patuxent. He and his Kevin Prater Band will begin work shortly on a new album, hopefully to be released early in 2017. Based in Kentucky, Prater has been a traditional bluegrass musician all his life, playing [...]
After seeing success with their handmade, wooden armrests for banjo players with nickel allergies, the Banjolit company has introduced a version of Dr. Arm for mandolin. Armrests for mandolin have become quite popular of late, patterned almost exactly on the sort of chin rests that violinists have used for centuries. The size and shape are [...]
The IBMA World of Bluegrass is now in the books (amazing that more than one book chronicles the history of bluegrass trade organization events), and now we can look back on it and take stock, or at least try to remember one or two things that happened. It’s a bluegrass tradition that after every World [...]
The Deering Banjo company has added a new accessory to their line of products for banjo players. Their new thumbpick is now offered directly from their web site in a white pearloid finish. It is styled and sized much like the popular National brand picks that have been available for many years, and the Golden Gate [...]
Several years ago, a sibling band based out of Florida took the bluegrass world by storm when they won the 2012 SPGBMA Band Competition and set off on a powerful career that recently earned them a number of IBMA Awards, including Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Unless you’ve been living under [...]
